First posted on Dev Letters

Move Fast and Break Things - such a popular saying in the startup world. Some are so in favor of it that they sing it everyday while there are others that absolutely loathe it.

I, for one, used to be not much of a strong believer in this. But then, through my own life experiences, I realized how this works.

There are two components to it -

(1) Move Fast

The first idea is pretty simple. You move fast. You do things fast. You work fast. In other words, you don't over-plan or procrastinate because it won't help.

(2) Break Things

Things will break. You won't get it correct the first time, Hell you won't get it correct even the second time. Why? Because it is hard to make correct assumptions. There are things that you cannot just assume. I have learned this myself, the hard way.

Instead, you should mold your product as you keep running into roadblocks. With enough perseverance on your part, you will eventually make it out, and be a success.

This applies to non-startup things like learning a programming language too.

Rather than sitting and thinking about how to write some code correctly, you just write the code in the way you know ("move fast") and if you ever come into a problem while following that method ("break things"), you will realize what is the more correct way to write it.

Repeat this cycle many times and you are eventually a pro.

I don't know of any other way that is more guaranteed to return results like this one. The only thing required here is persistence, really. If you think you have it, this approach is for you.

Otherwise, you go slowly.

Moving fast, breaking things, and then quitting when things break won't work.

PS - Want to learn more? Get yourself a copy of Rework and read it in one sitting (just kidding, I did it though). It will surely change some of your views on entrepreneurship and by extension, life.